John's Story

John recalls what it was like to receive help at Christmas when, after a time of extreme hardship, his family was reunited but barely making ends meet.

It would be a lonely world without The Salvation Army

‘I was practically crying on her lap with relief when I first met Dee, my Salvation Army social worker. As a recovering addict, I was carrying a lot of guilt and shame, but I was determined to make a new life for myself and my family, and I guess it was that sense of commitment that made an impression on Dee. People say, “You’re not going to make it”. “You’ll never change.” “This is what you are!” But with her, everything was different. Dee had zero judgement, and she believed in me from the get-go.

I’d just got the family back together, all under one roof. At that time, we were rebuilding our lives. We’d found a rental, but we were living dollar for dollar. Sixty percent of our benefit was going on rent and by the time we paid for power, food, petrol and internet… it’s a budget that’s tight. At times it was dire. It was coming up to Christmas and we had nothing extra. And what child doesn’t get excited about Christmas? We were desperate to make it special for Olly and Charlotte.

The first thing Dee did was to organise food parcels. That was a huge help. The Christmas parcel was extra special. We had a roast meal, with a pavlova. And they made sure there were some nice gifts for the kids. It’s incredible, the donations people give. It meant a lot to the kids. We’d been so stressed leading up to it but Christmas Day, all back together again, with food on the table and presents to unwrap. To see the kids’ faces... It’s hard to put into words the difference it made, having support at that time. Let’s just say this, it would be a lonely world without The Salvation Army.

A turning point

The great thing is that food is just the beginning. They’ve got awesome wraparound services. They just take you through and look after you. It’s a real warm feeling when you get that love from the community. We wanted to start getting life right, so the advice we were given, we took. I started seeing the financial mentor and that really helped us make the most of the money we had and avoid getting into debt, which is so easy when you’re barely making ends meet.

Dee was there for me every step of the way and she just made me feel accepted. She let me know it was always okay to ring, though in the beginning there was still that little bit of embarrassment, feeling a little shameful to ask for things. But the more you heal, the more you realise, that’s not right. It shows strength to ask for help.  It’s incredible how genuinely loving and kind people are, and how they want to help. The support we received transformed Christmas from what could have been a bleak time to one of joy and hope for the future. 

*Name changed to protect privacy

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